‘That’s it, I need a new driver.’ Many of us will have had a round with the driver where we’ve questioned whether a change is required – another one. It’s why the big stick is one of the first clubs we look to swap, upgrade or tinker with when the long game isn’t firing. So, it probably comes as no surprise that the most popular second-hand clubs in 2023 were drivers.
It’s probably no surprise, too, that the most sought after used clubs are usually those that belong to ‘The Big 4’ brands – that’s TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway, and Ping. All four of these manufacturers have a significant presence on Tour, so it stands to reason why golfers gravitate towards these major players. However, with so much choice on the market, a number of other models also proved popular.
“The large number of drivers that we sell is most likely a reflection of that constant quest for distance,” explains Dean Cracknell, Head Of Marketing, golfclubs4cash, Europe’s largest retailer of second-hand golf equipment. “A lot of golfers want to be able to hit the ball further, and that’s something you normally get promised with the latest all-singing, all-dancing driver.”
The 'Big 4'
TaylorMade has been at the forefront of developing some of the best golf drivers for over four decades and it continues to produce equipment delivering market-leading performance. One of the most popular second-hand drivers in 2023 was the TaylorMade M6, a club that Cracknell described as being in “hot demand all year”. This stable all-rounder proved to be a hit with a variety of player types.
Two other TaylorMade drivers made the ‘most popular’ list. Any club that promises to help smooth out a slice, a shot shape that a lot of amateur golfers struggle with, is likely to sell – and sell is what the TaylorMade SIM2 Max D certainly did. Then came the TaylorMade Stealth driver, one of the brand’s best-ever drivers, a club that offered hugely impressive all-round performance in one very fine-looking clubhead.
One driver that still sells well despite its age is the Ping G10 driver, which was released in 2007. Former World No.1 Lee Westwood, one of the game’s most consistent drivers, played this model for many a year, even after successors came and went. It goes to show that once a driver has that reputation (Tour validation like this always helps), even models that are 15-plus years old can still prove popular on the second-hand market place.
Ping’s other strong sellers were the Ping G425 Max driver, one of the most consistent models that we tested in 2022, and the Ping G410 SFT driver, a draw biased model designed for those golfers struggling with a slice.
According to golfclubs4cash, a total of four Callaway drivers made an appearance in its ‘best-sellers’ list. The second-hand golf retailer loads up to a thousand new listings to its site every day, but there are a few ‘old’ favourites that tend to go almost as quickly as they appear. The Callaway Epic Speed driver is one of those, as is the Callaway XR Pro 16, a 2016 model that witnessed a spike in 2023. Meanwhile, the Callaway Rogue ST Max witnessed high demand throughout the year.
Titleist also has an older model that finds itself battling it out near the top of the best-sellers league – the Titleist 917D2 driver, an adjustable model that shows no signs of losing is popularity. In terms of the TSR family, golfclubs4cash says the classic-looking Titleist TSR2 driver leads the way, with the Titleist TSR3 driver not far behind.
Best of the rest
As Cracknell says, if you are looking to change your driver, there is plenty of choice on the second-hand market, especially given golfclubs4cash will have between 25,000-30,000 listings online at any one time. And if you are looking at models not belonging to ‘The Big 4’, perhaps because such drivers still attract a chunky price, it can be useful to know what some of the best-sellers from the other brands have been.
“It’s always interesting to see the specific models that are holding their own against the 'big boys' when it comes to best-selling golf drivers,” says Cracknell. “If you have broadened your search, you may wish to check out a few of these models that we are often asked about: the original Srixon ZX7 driver; the Cobra King Radspeed driver; the Wilson Staff D9 driver; the Mizuno ST-Z 220 driver; and the PXG Gen4 driver.” Happy hunting.
